Animal killings were murderous executions

[caption id="attachment_39423" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Columbus Zoo director emeritus Jack Hanna, right, and Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz speak during a news conference, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011 in Zanesville, Ohio. Sheriffs deputies shot nearly 50 wild animals, including 18 rare Bengal tigers and 17 lions, in a big-game hunt across the Ohio countryside Wednesday after the owner of an exotic-animal park threw their cages open and committed suicide in what appeared to be one last act of spite against his neighbors and police. (AP Photo/The Columbus Dispatch, Doral Chenoweth III)"][/caption]

Authorities had problems for years with the man who owned the wild-animal compound – seven years to take these animals away from this irresponsible and cruel monster.

But no! Instead, the authorities took the easy way out and killed all the animals, many that are endangered. The authorities did not even try to tranquilize the animals before killing them. Just as they were shot dead, they could have been tranquilized.

If it had been one lone mass murderer who escaped from prison, the authorities would have done everything possible to apprehend him unharmed. Ah, but they were only animals.

Shame on Jack Hanna and any other so-called animal-rights representatives who supports the murderous rampage by the Ohio police.

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NORTH TUSTIN, Joe DiStefano: The sickening and devastating carnage that took place in Ohio should never have happened [“Sadness, anger in animal deaths,” Front Page, Oct. 20]. According to the Humane Society of the Unites States, Ohio and six other states have essentially no restrictions on owning animals such as lions and tigers, primates, wolves and dangerous reptiles. Thirteen other states have only minor permit requirements. Twelve states ban some of these dangerous animals.

California is one of only 18 states that have comprehensive rules against private individuals keeping these animals. Fortunately, there were no human deaths this time, but many people have been mauled or killed by exotic pets. It is time for the federal government to stop bowing to the exotic pet trade and ban private ownership of exotic and dangerous animals. It is not a personal freedom, especially when it is a potentially public hazard. Until there is a ban, there will be more animals and human's senselessly killed.

How much will we take?

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Barry Wasserman: Is there a parallel between the uprising of the people in Libya and those here in the United States? Not in any terms of reality. Yet, there should be concern as to how much the people of this country are willing to stomach before they began to coalesce and demand that our elected politicians stop their idealistic dreams of leveling the playing field between the haves and have-nots, the citizens and the illegals.

President Barack Obama and Gov. Jerry Brown have their own special agendas. They are taking our tax dollars and handing them over to illegal aliens to support them with housing, food, medical care and schooling. The Dream Act is another example of left-wing thinking.

That is money being used to support illegal students with higher education at the expense of our sons and daughters. If immigration officials did their jobs, we wouldn't have 12 million to 20 million illegal immigrants living in the United States today, using up resources that should be set aside for our people who worked hard and find themselves in serious financial straits.

We need to get back to reality, become more conservative with our finances and not print trillions of funny money that is not backed by a strong economy.

Non-rich are greedy, too

SAN CLEMENTE, Linda Rexroth: I would like to ask the “Occupy” protesters about the greed of those who are sucking the life out of the working class in this country with all the entitlements they are asking for. It is getting harder and harder to write that tax payment to the U.S. Treasury, wondering if that money will go to an individual who chooses to shirk the responsibilities of being in this great country by voluntarily taking what he or she has not earned.

Helping those who want to work and contribute, but can't find work, is a necessity, but too many are just developing a frame of mind that they should be “taken care of.” That is unacceptable.

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ORANGE, Richard Callahan: President Obama has given the Occupy Wall Street protesters his support, and they seem to share basic opinions. Both believe that corporations are evil and Mr. Obama has made a specific point that corporations, or at least banks, do not have the right to make a profit from services provided to its customers, the “middle class.”

Karl Marx, author of The Communist Manifesto, was extremely critical of the capitalist profit motive, railed against the wealthy that he called the “bourgeoisie” and believed that society should be a classless community and that the underprivileged should carry out organized action to bring about change.

I'm not privy to Mr. Obama's true philosophy, but if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck ...

Ron Paul still written off

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Jacque Doiron: The Register is pure hypocrisy with the GOP debate editorial [“GOP debate: More heat than light,” Oct. 20]. The candidate who promotes individual liberty and freedom is not mentioned at all.

He is Ron Paul. I don't know which debate they were watching. Paul trounced the other candidates. The audience was not pro-Romney. Paul stated his cuts for the federal budget. Anderson Cooper asked him about the cuts.

How come Ron Paul's cuts aren't mentioned or highlighted like Romney's? And some of the candidates (Cain, Romney and Perry) even agreed with Paul.

Why does mainstream media continue to ignore Ron Paul? Print the whole truth, not half truths. Paul was the only one to answer the first question: “What are you going to replace the federal income tax with?” His answer: “Nothing!”

Paul has sound plans for this country. He is the only one with common sense.

Tragedy triggered memories

MISSION VIEJO, Jody Dowley: It is heart-breaking to hear about the Seal Beach massacre and how one man's rage has torn these families' lives apart [“Police say boy, 8, is with relatives,” Local, Oct. 20]. The families have lost loved ones: wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, grandparents, brothers, sisters and children.

Time doesn't heal any wounds. When I read that Michelle Fournier's son was waiting for her to pick him up from school, all of my painful memories came rushing back.

My Dad tragically died on the way to work one Monday morning. My school principal watched over me the rest of the day to make sure no one told me while my mom was praying how in the world she was going to be able to tell us kids. I remember it as if it were yesterday. That Monday morning my big brother was being drafted into the Vietnam War and when the draft board heard the news of my dad they stopped the proceedings and declared my brother, 22, as the immediate head of our household.

The only way that our family has made it the last 43 years is that we decided that we would grow up honoring our wonderful dad's memory and make him proud. With God's help, we were able to put one foot in front of the other so we could walk through life together.

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